In the Applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/016,562 there is described a knife sharpener which is received into an opening in the knife storage block, otherwise used for a steel, in order to provide an alternative sharpening facility that is readily available at all times. In that application the form of the knife sharpener is not restricted.
The Applicant has now developed a combination of a knife storage block and a knife sharpener which it is believed provides certain advantages over alternatives, as will become clear in due course.